Claim OwnershipOn the Farm
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A roundup of farming conditions all around New Zealand
303 Episodes
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Assessment of damage is underway in Pukekohe after a deluge of rain saw onions floating down the street and farms turned into lakes. Kiwifruit vines and structures have also been wiped out - while parts of the South Island start preparing for a drought.
Cows are laying in grass in Waikato, while pasture growth has dropped dramatically in Southland. Clinical signs of facial eczema are starting to show around the country and a tropical insect which could be hugely detrimental has been found on the West Coast.
Heavy rain in Pukekohe mid-week made the ground too wet to dig potatoes or lift onions. Cherry picking is underway in Otago. The last two weeks have seen warm days and cool nights which has been good for ripening and flavour.
Rain has come back to Northland in the past few days. It's a blessing to see conditions like these in the summer months as soil moisture levels won't be improving from now. Silage making is in full swing in Canterbury and vineyards are at the tail end of shoot thinning in Central Otago.
Hawke's Bay has had good weather for flowering vineyards. A dairy farmer in Southland says grass is shooting out of the ground after a good dose of rain.
There's an explosion of grass in Waikato this week after countless days of rain and warmish weather, calves are being weaned and drenched on the West Coast and winter crops are in the ground in South Otago.
In Manawatu it's gone from being too wet to drive tractors on paddocks to hanging out for rain. While on the West Coast of the South Island, farmers are shutting up paddocks for silage, and some are past their peak milk production.
In Taranaki the temperature gauge is rising and pasture growth is finally looking good. In Southland, they're flat out tailing and some farmers are pleasantly surprised that their lambing tally is higher than scanning predicted.
Warm rain and a mix of sunshine has kicked grass out of the ground across the country. It's a relief for many across the North Island trying to get silage together. Farmers are treading water in Wairarapa and join those in Nelson wanting a bit more rain now the ground is drying up. And the last of tailing completed this week marks the end of the lambing season in Southland.
Most farms are pretty short of grass in Northland and supplementary feed suppliers say there has been a big uptake. Strong wind has stopped spraying in its tracks for an olive grower in Wairarapa, while in Central Otago a frost at the beginning of the week was an early wake up call for cherry growers.
Weather has been kind in Bay of Plenty with enough sunny days to finally finish docking and creative juices have been let loose on the humble gumboot on the West Coast.
Bay of Plenty kiwifruit growers are counting their losses this week after a frost last Friday caused irreparable damage. Central Otago sheep farmers are nearing the end of shearing and lambing is in full swing.
Cold and extremely wet is how most are feeling in Waikato. About 110 millimetres of rain has fallen this week. Snow fell across Canterbury this week to sea level. Grass growth remains very slow with many farmers still feeding out.
In the Bay of Plenty gold kiwifruit are in their full bud stage and the new red kiwifruit vines are starting to flower. In Otago one farmer says it' been one of the best lambing seasons in his 50 years.
In the Bay of Plenty it's still wet and boggy around kiwifruit vines. Bud burst is a bit slower than usual which is a relief for orchardists still trying to finish pruning. Ewe scanning percentages are down about 10 percent in Southland and that's being attributed to this year's drought.
It's been one of the wettest springs for a while in Hawke's Bay which makes it physically hard on farm as everything is sodden. In South Otago the weather has been perfect for those in the thick of lambing and pasture covers are as perfect as they can be for early spring.
A southerly cruised through the Bay of Plenty making it miserably cold for staff continuing to prune kiwifruit. Bud burst has started in Marlborough vineyards. Some growers have been fighting frosts this week with windmills and helicopters.
Early fruit trees are blossoming, asparagus heads are peeping out and lambing is in full swing as spring touched down this week after a miserable winter.
Lambing percentages are looking positive In King Country with plenty of twins frolicking around the paddocks. In Marlborough some vineyards are still tying and pruning their vines behind schedule due to staff shortages and last week's horrendous weather.
Northland, Tasman/Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast farmers are once again dealing with flooded paddocks, slips, access roads blocked and significant damage following huge volumes of rain falling this week.
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